We did it again. This time the tickets were dolled out in a lottery. As soon as I heard I sent out an email to many friends; One if by day, etc. I personally sent in two requests, one for me and one for Her. About 8 weeks later, in an unremarkable envelope, Hers came. We're going to the Antiques' Road Show! I kept checking my mailbox, but no tickets for me. Or perhaps they came, but I tossed them out with other seeming junk mail. Who knows? Mom and Dad didn't get tickets. Nor did David and Sue. Deb got a pair. So did Gayle and Carson.

The big news is that we DID get on TV!!! Click here to see it on YouTube.

Remembering my last failure with the large beer stein, I thought I'd need some help. I sent out another email asking for ideas. Who has the one item that will get me on TV for sure? Vance suggested his custom EKG machine - I had to turn it down as too heavy. Fran supplied two items. Mom and Dad also. I made some lunch trips to collect the booty and I was ready to go.

I got Her a Palissy ware plate for her birthday and at the last minute She decided to bring along the silver plate service. A nice one, but the key for the safe deposit box was in Saratoga. Yikes. A fast flight to the South bay retrieved the key and She was set.

We had tickets for 11AM, but Gayle went in at 8. So, on our way up we got Gayle on the phone and she was just giddy with excitement. They had already been through the process and were now sitting in the lobby of a hotel reviewing their experiences. Gayle brought along her friend Keiko. Gayle showed her collection of tea strainers - 40 in all. The collectables table was happy to see them, but a set of napkin rings had just been filmed, so Gayle was left to watch. Keiko's old ceramic thermos was a hit, but alas, the paint was not in good enough shape for TV. They had thoroughly enjoyed their trip, but having never been out of the house before noon, they were searching for other activities in San Francisco. I think they finally ended up at the Chagall exhibit at SF MOMA.

She and I made an easy park at 5th and Mission. A short walk found us in line, waiting to be seen. Once again, TARS did a wonderful job of crowd control. The staff was pleasant and nice to everyone. We chatted up a couple behind us. They had several pistols from the revolutionary war and one musket. Neat stuff. I was worried that their weapons might be reassemblies since the wood did not fit the brass exactly. They were not worried. 

We made it inside with our stuff. This time we were careful to watch when the taping was live and to hang around behind the tables. We managed to do this twice and to walk behind the tables twice more. I think we have four chances to be on TV. And our strategy worked! We made it on to the show. Click here to see it on YouTube.

As too our booty... 

Alas, the sipping glasses were "ordinary". No marks. "Something made at a reasonable cost to look nice too." No real value he says.  "What about family value?" He smiles. He's a nice guy.

The pewter sugar and cream pitcher were also of no interest to the appraiser. He was very nice about it but he said they were just utilitarian items. I pointed out the hallmark (the word White inside a triangle with the words Handmade and Pewter along the two top sides), but he had no idea of the White company. He shrugged his shoulders saying, "there were lots of companies that made pewter items. Who's to say which one or where?" Interesting that with Google today I found the exact same item, with the same hallmark but the word Solid above the triangle and Pewter below it. It was for sale for $33.

My Dad's father's watch was made in 1887, according to the serial number. It was a "workingman's watch." The watch could have been used by railroad workers before 1890. In that year the rail system went on a universal time standard to avoid train collisions. Every railroad man had to have a watch that was accurate to within two seconds a day. This watch would only be accurate to a few minutes a day. Value: $300.

Mom's Grandmother's watch got a quick looking over. He immediately said, "1910 or so" which is right on with the hidden 1909 inscription. He looked at it a bit and said, "typical watch of the day. Maybe about the same value as the other." Hmmm. Mom had it appraised before at $1,500. I wanted to ask him more but by then he was turning away from me and looking for the next person.

She had her silver plate set, 19 settings of a zillion items. We lugged it up on the table and the appraiser was complementary. He said it was a nice set, but that there's no market for silver plate these days. He suggested $300. Apparently new sets cost less than the old ones. He did like the oak box that it came in.

Then there was the Palissy ware. Again the big winner. We got more of the story: Bernard Palissy invented the technique around 1650 in Spain. In the 18th century it was made in Spain, Portugal, and France. In the 19th century it spread to the UK, Germany, and Italy. The older Palissyware is very neatly done, with fantastic glaze. The later work is more sloppy in application. Hers is sloppy. Still, he thought it might be German, due to the number on the back, made in the early 20th century. Estimated price of $500-600. Not bad for something I bought on eBay for $60, including shipping.

On the way out we once again saw Jo and John. His flintlock rifle was worth $1,500. The pistols about $1,000 each, except for one fine specimen that was valued at $2,000. They were happy. We had told them our strategy of hanging around behind an active TV shoot and they did it too. It worked, as they are the couple in the very middle of much of the show.

We hung around the outside eating expensive turkey sandwiches when Edie and Carson showed up.